Of Royalty and Rebel Pirates
by AJealousSoulsLully
Summary: Pirate AU! Genderbent!Azula. In which Azula is Zuko's older brother known as Azulon. After their father's death, Iroh forbids them to leave the palace, against his orders the brothers venture out only to be captured when pirates known as The Gaang save them, leading them on a merry journey where one question prevails all: Will they ever make it back home? Jet/Zuko/Sokka Aang/Zuko
1. Chapter 1

This was a bitch to write as well as the friggin title! Jeebus ~ ! Rated M for safety because of swearing and I'm going to try my hand at writing smut but that's later on within the story. Also this is a gift for KawaiiHawaiiCoCoNut who got me into this ship which I did not ever think existed, I hope it's to everyone's liking though, longer summary after the disclaimer ~ I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

In which Azula is Zuko's (16) 18 year old demented/possessive/protective older brother known as Azulon, the gifted son of the Fire Nation and feared by all; years after their father's death, Uncle Iroh has refused to let either of the brothers beyond the palace walls, growing bored, Azulon manipulates his little brother into leaving the palace walls with him just to have a little adventure, and just as the brothers are getting a feel for their fair city they are captured by human traffickers, but as they're half-way to their destination the ship is attacked by a group of dangerous yet friendly group of rebel pirates known as _The Gaang._

Once in safe hands, Azulon and Zuko face yet another challenge, they're practically on the other side of the world and they have to get back! Not only that but some of the crew members within this ragtag team of pirates start taking an interest in Zuko, much to both firebending siblings dismay.

In the end, they have to wonder, will they ever make it home~?

* * *

_Dry lightning cracked across the midnight skies followed shortly by thunderous booming, cold winds screamed whipping at everything within it's reach, storm clouds gathering above the lush land of the Fire Nation Kingdom, it's citizens hunkering down to weather out the storm. All except for two mysterious figures blanketed by the midnight darkness; dodging for cover, pressing their bodies against walls, masking their bodies within the shadows while waiting for the guards to pass by their hiding places until the coast was clear, making their job that much easier. Pushing themselves from the walls of their hidden places, the duo made their way through the city's streets and alleys, weaving and dodging through the city to their destination; The Fire Nation Palace._

_The two slowed to a stop just on the other side of the street where a giant wall was being patrolled, the guards making their rounds within the stormy night, this was merely the outer wall to the palace. One man in Water Tribe garb cast a look to his companion, a man in Earth Kingdom rags; the two sharing a meaningful nod. Quickly exiting their place in the shadows the duo took out the two guards, the Water Tribe man tossing the Earth Kingdom man a lined hook, the man catching it deftly with practiced ease, giving the hook a few spins, the Earth Kingdom male threw the hook up the wall with all his might. Both waiting to hear the telltale click of it catching the edge, upon hearing the satisfying click, the Earth Kingdom man tugged on the rope judging it's sturdiness, satisfied, he sent a thumbs up to the Water Tribe man;_

_"Beauty before age, Hakoda~." the Earth Kingdom man snickered, pushing Hakoda to the side, proceeding to climb the rope,_

_"You have got to be __**the **__most self-centered bastard ever." Hakoda grumbled irritably, following shortly after the man,_

_"Don't get to be the King of Thieves," the man breathed, "For nothing~."_

_Up and over. The two jumped to the muddied earth of the Palace Garden, now coming upon the large expanse of green hedges forming a towering maze. Working their way through the maze, the two men came upon the Palace wall, looking up, they spotted a grand balcony; the Fire Lord's. Grinning, the man known as 'The King of Thieves' readied the lined hook once more, their mission almost over and he'd be able to leave this Water Tribe man behind, he really was a stick in the mud, once again, they heard the click of the hook, tugging on the rope they found it satisfactory and once again began climbing the treacherous ascent, their goal oh-so-close._

_Standing upon the balcony, the King of Thieves brandished a dagger that glinted dangerously as lightning seared across the skies, a dangerous grin crossing his lips as he readied himself for the kill, while Hakoda slowed to a stop capturing the Thief King's attention. Looking over his shoulder the King of Thieves sneered at the Water Tribe man;_

_"Second thoughts, Hakoda?"_

_"No, no." Hakoda shook his head, "Let's just get this over with."_

_"Good." the King Thief snapped, twirling the dagger skillfully, "Because I sure as hell ain't backing down now."_

_Gliding into the room, both men approached the large grandiose bed decorated in various shades of red, in the center of the bed lay a man with ebony hair sprawled about, showing off his pale features, the man __**was **__pretty handsome, too bad he was a horrible leader. After making sure it was their target, Hakoda quickly pressed all his weight upon the sleeping man who awoke with a fright. Barely making out their features, the Fire Lord felt something bite into his skin and before he knew it, it was becoming hard to breath let alone keep his eyes open, he barely registered that his throat had been slit._

_Hakoda and the King of Thieves watched, waiting to see if the man was truly dead before sprinting out onto the balcony, slipping ever so slightly, the duo disappearing just as fast as they had arrived. Once a safe distance away from the Fire Nation Kingdom, Hakoda looked to the Thief King who was currently cleaning his dagger, he couldn't help but feel a sort of sickness well within him at how easily the other man had done so, acting so nonchalant, it was sickening, but he had to thank the man for his help;_

_"Thank you, King of Thieves." Hakoda bit out,_

_"Please~," the King of Thieves drawled, placing his blade back in it's scabbard, "It had to be done."_

_"What are you going to do now?"_

_"What are we? Friends now?" the Earth Kingdom man snorted, "I'm hitting the road."_

_"Don't you have a family?" Hakoda questioned, trying to quell his irritation,_

_"So?"_

_This surprised Hakoda; "What are you going to do about them?"_

_"I think it'd be best if I left them~." the Thief King stated simply,_

_"Don't you have a son?"_

_"Look." the Thief King growled, glaring at Hakoda, "I know you're a family man, you have what? A son? Well so do I, but I think it's best if I leave them because I don't want them to be dragged into this if I __**do **__get captured, which I highly doubt, but y'know, whatever."_

_"That's a bunch of bullshit and you know it."_

_"Whatever. Later Hakoda."_

_"Bastard."_

_That was the type of man he never wanted his daughter to meet, or his son for that matter._

* * *

_The sun rose that morning along with panic within the palace as the guards had found their Fire Lord dead within his chambers;_

_"The Fire Lord has been assassinated!"_

_"Fire Lord Ozai is dead!"_

_"What!?"_

_"What about the rest of the royal family!?"_

_"Check on them!"_

_"Someone get General Iroh!"_

_"Right!"_

_Voices was all five year old Zuko had heard when he heard someone burst through his doors, he'd spotted his Uncle with a look of pure relief cross his features before he scooped young Prince Zuko into a platypus-bear hug, repeating words of assurance and something akin to: Thank the Spirits you're okay! It was early in the morning, therefore Zuko's confusion was understood. Soon after his Uncle had rudely burst into his room, a few guards entered with the same look of relief on their faces as his Uncle's;_

_"Uncle?" Zuko questioned, awkwardly returning the hug, "What's going on?"_

_This is when things became quiet, his Uncle slowly releasing him from the hug as he chose to sit upon the edge of Zuko's bed, a forlorn look crossing his features, replacing the earlier look of relief. Zuko looked to the guards who too took on this same look;_

_"Father is dead."_

_Every pair of eyes within that room turned to find proud seven year old Prince Azulon standing rigid with his hands behind his back looking as scornful as ever, Zuko looked to the adults within the room, looking for confirmation on what Azulon had just stated causing him to bristle; he felt his brother was weak, and what was worse, everyone loved poor little Zuzu for it, everyone except their father who bragged about his abilities, but never going beyond that in the way of affection._

_"I-is that true?" Zuko murmured, "How?"_

_A guard stepped up, "A couple of guards were knocked unconscious as well as a few citizens it seems, we found muddy footprints within Fire Lord Ozai's chambers, it seems they were only interested in going after your father-,"_

_"Is that __**supposed **__to make us feel better!?" Azulon snapped irritably,_

_"Oh-, I-uh-," the guard backtracked, he bowed, "My deepest apologies Prince Azulon, I-I wasn't thinking."_

_"Of course you weren't!" Azulon hissed, glaring at the man, grabbing his wrist and proceeding to burn it causing the man to squirm, "What if you were to lose a family member and I said such mindless things!?"_

_"Azulon, stop!" Zuko shouted, rushing to the man's side, he looked to the man who looked grateful, "Just-, when's the funeral?"_

_"A day from now Prince Zuko, it will be held at sunrise." Iroh added, placing a hand upon his nephew's shoulder,_

_Nodding solemnly, Zuko slumped, there was really nothing else he could do at this point; he and Azulon watched as the adults filed out of the room, Uncle Iroh ordering a few guards to watch the children. Zuko found his gaze wandering to Azulon who took to glaring at the floor below his feet, unaware that he was currently having a meltdown for he felt that the only other person who acknowledged him more than a monster was in fact, dead, it was then, Zuko didn't know what, but something overcame him, urging him to move up to his older brother and wrap him in his stubby arms, giving him a comforting, albeit, awkward hug._

_This momentarily caught Azulon off-guard but he allowed it, for now, and merely stood there unsure as how to react, this little display of affection showing Azulon that his father wasn't the last to acknowledge him, showing that he had someone better, someone who could look up to him, someone who could go to him for protection, someone who was younger than him, his little brother. Oddly enough, Azulon placed a hand upon his brother's back, he wouldn't let this last person slip from his life if there was anything he could do about it~._

* * *

Okay so Azula is now an 18 year old boy named Azulon and is a little more nicer, in his own way, not really, plus I have a question; do I have to constantly put the disclaimer at the beginning of each chapter or no? Anyway ~ I hope you all like this humble story I present you with :)


	2. Chapter 2

I don't have a schedule on when I do and do not update and I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

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Shooting upright from his fitful slumber, Zuko found that he was coated within a thin sheen of cold sweat, his hands clutching the red silken sheets beneath him; it was just a dream, memory, a scene that took place over 11 years ago, he was 16 and Azulon 18, this did little to curtail the thin veil of vertigo, relaxing him only to a little degree before he found that he wasn't the only one within his chambers.

Hazy golden eyes narrowed distrustfully as a young man stepped forth from the shadows; long black tresses that were usually pulled back into a neat bun and usually adorned with the crown piece which just so happened to be missing was now in a high pony-tail, piercing amber eyes staring him down, lips pulled into a taunting smirk, the boy was dressed in a red puffy sleeved sweater with a plain black vest buttoned up, hugging his form, black pants with it's ends placed within black boots, a black sash with golden accents tied off at his waist, there was subtle yet obvious muscle tone; Azulon. He watched his brother, searching for any and all signs of betrayal he knew to be hidden within Azulon's stance but staring his brother down soon proved to be quiet the hard task for he found that with each tension filled second that passed the need to look away grew until, finally, he cast his glare to the wall opposite of Azulon, knowing full well that smirk grew victorious-,

"What do you want, Azulon?"

"I just dropped by to see how my little brother was - ,"

"Drop the act Azulon!" Zuko snapped, swinging his attention to Azulon with full force, "You and I both know that you don't and never cared about how I am, will, or was!"

Dark chuckling emanated from the proud boy, filling the silence of the room followed by the barely there sound of footsteps, the footsteps sounding thunderous within the tense silence, Azulon stood before the foot of Zuko's bed,

"My, my, Zuzu," Azulon jeered tauntingly, "I'm impressed ~ you're finally growing into a big boy ~ , but all that aside, I want you to accompany me out into the city."

"The city?" Zuko questioned softly, thoughtfully, before his expression hardened, "You know Uncle won't allow it!"

"Who said anything about telling Uncle~?" Azulon created a small flame within his palm, "Do you _always_ have to ask that old fuddy-duddy for permission?"

"N-no!"

"_Good ~ ," _Azulon smirked, allowing the flame to disappear, "Then let's go."

"No, Azulon!" Zuko shouted, standing indignantly, "You know Uncle won't let us out of the palace ever since-!"

Azulon stood abruptly making Zuko realize what he was about to say, he faltered in his anger, watching his brother, watching for any hint at the emotions his brother hid, but nothing showed, Azulon merely took on an uninterested gaze, arching an eyebrow,

"Well?" the older bender prodded,

"What about-?"

"Don't worry, I've got everything taken care of," Azulon stated, tone clipped, "We leave in 10, I'll give you 5 to change into something less _conspicuous_."

With that the older brother exited the room leaving the youth in a state of disbelief and a foreboding feeling that bid nothing but trouble for Zuko, finally willing himself to get moving, Zuko moved about, picking out a simple thin long sleeved shirt followed by black bottoms, promptly tucking them into boots similar to Azulon's, once satisfied, Zuko tied a simple black sash around his waist as Azulon entered the room, Zuko merely watched as his brother approached noticing a metallic object glinting dangerously, and without so much as a warning, Azulon cut the tie that held Zuko's hair back prompting his own black locks to fall messily in his face;

"There. Now no one can see you're hideous scar." Azulon jabbed, sharply turning on his heel,

This leaving Zuko to scowl and follow grudgingly after his brother, he didn't know why, the older boy was a complete and total jerk to everyone, him including. Uncle Iroh had said that it was only Azulon's way of showing his _affection _to which Zuko had off-handedly proclaimed that he wouldn't be able to live through Azulon's _affections _any longer than necessary, this earning a hearty laugh from his Uncle much to his dissatisfaction.

Upon exiting the palace and it's towering walls, Zuko found that sneaking out had been rather, _easy, _he supposed Azulon had something to do with the lack of guards patrolling the gardens and wall, he just hoped Azulon hadn't done anything rash such as _accidentally _killing one of them because he lost control, he heard Azulon whistle in appreciation gaining Zuko's attention. Gasping, Zuko took in the city with it's multiple buildings, all varying in sizes, each building held a different position, it was amazing~!

The duo moved forward, it was a half hour before the sun would rise which meant the two brothers had the city to themselves; in that short amount of time, both Zuko and Azulon had learned of various things that kept their palace up and running, learning that some of the peasants were struggling, learning just about everything they could and they drank it up.

Out here meant that you had to adopt a certain way of behavior lest you fall victim to a scam or a beating; both brothers were unaware of the steady trickle of people entering the streets until it was too late for people of all sizes and ages took to the streets, chatter began picking up in volume as more flocked to the streets pushing the two brothers about, Azulon was starting to bristle while Zuko nearly got lost a couple of times before his brother grabbed him roughly by the collar and began steering him towards the palace.

"What about those two, Xing?"

"They'd fetch a good price."

"Qiang, steal something from the older boy, lead them to our alley where we'll K.O them. Si, capture the younger boy." Xing ordered,

Nodding, the men began to work on their orders.

Azulon spotted something out of the corner of his eye when he felt a tug at his sash before feeling the weight of his dagger being taken, his reaction was almost instantaneous as he let Zuko go in order to chase the thief down forcing Zuko to chase after his brother shouting something, Azulon didn't know what he said nor did he care, he just wanted his stuff back, no one takes his stuff lest they value their life. Both brothers chasing after the man, unaware that they were being watched from the shadows.

Growling, Azulon sent a blast of lightning at the man's feet causing him to stumble, a shout of shock escaping the man, sending Azulon a flit of momentary satisfaction, a flare of fire passing Azulon and the thief, the man letting out another surprised yelp, it seemed Zuzu wanted to help ~ .

Qiang couldn't believe it, the two were firebenders! And good ones at that! One even seemed to know how to bend lightning! Just his luck, he soon turned sharply, running down the alley he was to meet Xing and Si. Turning around he saw that the lightning bending boy escaped Si, his eyes glued on to Qiang, Zuko slid to a stop as a man grabbed him, struggling, Zuko allowed his body to heat up causing the man to yelp out of surprise, he followed this by a roundhouse kick sending the man falling to the ground, he looked over his shoulder and found Azulon had shot a bolt of lightning at the man successfully sending him into shock and just as he was about to grab his things another man descended from the shadows, promptly knocking out his brother and just before Zuko could do anything, he too was knocked unconscious, but not before seeing the man his brother had taken down struggle to get up,

_"Firebenders, huh?"_

_"That will earn us more gold~!"_

_"Let's get them out of here quick!"_

* * *

Waking up to a dank wooden room, Azulon allowed a small growl to escape his now dry lips, sitting up, piercing golden eyes studied the room around him before he remembered what had happened, he soon spotted Zuko lying on the wooden floor across from him, still out of it, snorting, Azulon blew some strands of his black locks out of his face, it seemed he had lost his tie sometime while he was out. A leery chuckle captured his attention making Azulon frown, he spotted a dirty and bullish man sitting upon a little wooden stool, a perverted grin placed upon his lips as he eyed Azulon;

"Hello sleeping beauty, you've been out for five days ~ !" the man crowed, getting to his feet, sidling up to Azulon's cage, "Sleep well ~ ?"

"You know," Azulon began threateningly, "Everything in here is made of wood, I could burn it down in the blink of an eye."

This seemingly startled the man if the look on his face was any indication, he soon frowned then grinned,

"But that would leave you and your brother here in the middle of the ocean ~ ,"

"Better than being here with you guys," Azulon huffed, a small breath of fire escaping his mouth,

"I've got something better for you to do with that pretty mouth of yours ~ ," the man leered,

This was Azulon's limit for he inhaled a mighty breath and forced the air out, a gust of fire expelling from his mouth yet making sure not to hit Zuko's unconscious form, the man yelped as his arm and face was singed, his shout calling all the others to the prisoners level,

"What's going on, Qiang!?"

"This brat burnt me!" the man Qiang shouted,

The man who seemed to be the head honcho around the ship eyed Azulon menacingly to which Azulon met with one of his one, the man huffed and turned his back on Azulon,

"Pour some cold water on them, make sure to keep them cold, feed them less so they won't have as much strength."

Nods went around and with a shout, Azulon felt the biting cold of the icy water pour all over him, he began sputtering curses and such at the men who laughed at him, he glared out through his soaked hair trying to stop the shivers that crept throughout his body, he noticed one of the men had his tie, growling, Azulon spit at them.

Subconsciously, Zuko could hear voices and before he knew it a splash of icy water hit him like a ton of bricks making him jolt, a burst of fire shooting from his mouth, he heard screaming, another bucket was tossed over him prompting his fire to stop. Sputtering and spitting, Zuko saw the screaming man on the floor, his face burnt off, he was surprised the man didn't die of shock, but beyond the man sat Azulon looking like a drowned panther, which would have been amusing had he not been in the same position. A dark figure entered his line of sight and before he knew it, a large fist connected with his gut in which he felt his stomach churn before he doubled over, the contents of his stomach spilling out over wooden floors; he heard familiar laughter causing him to look up through watery eyes as the men left, carrying their dead friend,

"What a good way to wake up, isn't it Zuzu ~ ?" Azulon chuckled,

"W-Where are we?"

"On a ship spirits knows where."

"What!? No! We can't be!" Zuko began struggling with his bindings;

Azulon merely watched his brother struggle in vain with the bindings, Azulon rolled his eyes, resting against the wooden wall, both he and Zuko were doused with icy cold water about five times a day for three days leaving both siblings shivering and deathly pale, but despite this, Zuko kept at it, trying to free himself;

"Don't you think if there was a way out, we wouldn't be here?" Azulon snorted,

"Well you're not in my cell now are you?" Zuko spat, "There could be a flaw here!"

"You've said that for the past week!" Azulon snapped, his skin paler than usual and looking like a soaked rat as well as Zuko, both brothers had been treated rather poorly;

"You never know!"

Just as these words left Zuko's shivering lips, they heard shouting followed by a loud boom, startling both siblings, a cannonball blasted through the ship's walls leaving an open hole in both Zuko and Azulon's cell, yet neither could do anything about it for they were still chained. Zuko moved to look through the newly made hole when a wild looking boy around the same age as Azulon emerged from the hole resting upon the broken edges of it, a piece of wheat jutting out from his mouth, he spotted Azulon first before spying Zuko on his knees before him.

A lecherous grin broke across the wild haired boy's face,

"Why hello there ~ ," the boy purred kneeling so his face was inches away from Zuko's earning a scowl from both brothers,

"Jet! What's taking you so-?" another boy emerged from the hole, this time the boy's hair was up in a small pony-tail, dressed in Water Tribe garb, his eyes landed on Zuko,

"Get the other one, I got this one ~ ," the boy, A.K.A Jet, ordered, as he proceeded to help Zuko get free,

"_I got a __**name."**_Zuko hissed as he watched Jet remove the manacles from his ankles,

"So do I, what's your's?" Jet grinned up at Zuko,

"Zuko," Zuko huffed once Jet released him from his chains,

Jet rose to his feet offering Zuko a hand to which he took, "Name's Jet,"

The two were soon joined by Azulon and the pony-tailed boy,

"We need to get out of here."

* * *

Second chapter ~ lol


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

"Alright," Jet began, the wheat within his mouth twirling, "We're going to have to tell the others we got a couple of prisoners, Sokka,"

"On it," Sokka assured as he handed a flying lemur a message,

Jet's eyes landed on the younger of the two benders and offered an award winning grin, "We'll get you guys out of here, don't worry."

Snorting and unimpressed as hell, Azulon shoved passed the group of fools, these two boys expected to save him and his brother? Ridiculous. Leaning out the breach within the ship's side, Azulon took in the surroundings and spotted another ship on the opposite side of them before looking up, it was a clear shot. Jumping out, Azulon let a burst of fire propel him upwards as Zuko watched his brother safely land on the upper deck of the ship, his brother was going to burn this whole ship down, he looked back passed the two _saviors _and pushed passed them, making his way out of the hole in the cell's gate, hearing the shouts of the two boys yet ignoring them.

They needed to get off of this ship before it went up in flames.

Running up the stairs, Zuko came upon two guards who seemed confused as to what that noise above them was when their eyes landed upon Zuko's poor looking form, they smirked figuring that this would be an easy fight, just as Zuko dropped into a defensive position trying to will his bending back into shape only for his world to spin as a strong arm wrapped around him, twirling him into another body in armor as the sound of metal on metal echoed throughout the room.

Looking up Zuko spotted that boy, Sokka, holding onto him, his gaze never wavering from Jet who moved with a killer's instinct, the lust of blood calling out to the wild boy. Jet swung one of his hook swords, hooking it upon a piece of the guard's armor as he brought his other sword to stab the other man between the eyes with the sharpened end of his sword's hilt, bringing the other man smashing into his now dead companion using his other sword to slash the man's throat as their bodies fell.

Grinning from the adrenaline rush, Jet glanced over his shoulders at the two gauging for their reactions, Zuko seemed rather impressed, only mildly though before his face hardened, he shoved away from Sokka who seemingly forgotten that Zuko was there. Sure Azulon was the biggest royal jerk there ever was, but he was still family, the only family he had within this crazy world.

Bursting through the doors, Zuko was swept into the large battle happening upon the ship's deck, he was shoved to the side as kids, wait, he did a double take noticing kids' carrying munitions and other supplies onto the other ship held together by a large ice bridge with railings upon it, what the hell? Shouts captured Zuko's attention back to the fight where he spotted his brother raising hell with those who captured him, his hair flying wildly, his features highlighted by the blue light of his flames, he felt the presence of the other two boys, he heard Sokka gasp and Jet whistle, most likely impressed-,

"We got what we need! Get back to the ship!" a young boy shouted over the chaos.

This amounted to mass retreat and before Zuko knew it he was grabbed and thrown over a strong padded shoulder, his whole world spinning once again, a hand placing itself upon his rear, the hand giving him a hearty squeeze making him yelp and begin squirming, Jet grinned at this, it was just an innocent misplacement of hand after all ~ Sokka didn't seem as amused by this as Jet was yet he kept the enemy pirates from landing hits upon Jet and Zuko, Jet trying his best to block hits with one arm, making sure not to drop his precious luggage.

"Someone stop them! They've got Prince Zuko!"

This exclamation capturing Azulon's attention as he ducked, tossing a man overboard, promptly standing and sending another man falling, his skin sizzling, it seemed these men _did _know who they were, yet they were still trying to sell them. Angered, Azulon quickly searched through the mass of bodies, trying to find his brother, spotting said boy with those two others, they were treating him like a damsel, growling, Azulon sent a blast of blue fire before them, sending them skidding to a stop, he didn't get to see his result for he was slugged in the jaw to which he returned.

A blast of blue fire exploded before him causing him to stumble forward landing roughly on Zuko, looking up Zuko's body he allowed a grin for he found he was laying upon the young man's stomach ~ ,

"Hello beautiful ~ ."

Sneering, Zuko shoved Jet off, a small blush making itself home on Zuko's face, these boys were so odd, in fact they were so odd he found himself wishing to be in his brother's predictable yet demented and deadly presence rather than these two. Getting to his feet, he spotted Azulon becoming swamped yet dealing blow after blow, his view on his brother becoming blocked by pirates who were now moving in on them, Zuko prepared himself to fight when Jet stepped before him with twin hook swords poised and ready to attack, growling Zuko shoved him off to the side,

"I can take care of _my-!?"_

Before he could finish his sentence, he was hoisted up onto Sokka's shoulders who ran to the edge of the ship where the large ice bridge connecting the two ships was located, it was then he realized they were going to leave his brother behind, he began hitting Sokka's back earning a surprised shout from the Water Tribe boy,

"My brother's still back there!" Zuko shouted, pounding on the boy's back, "Go back! Go back! _**Go back!"**_

Jet was halfway across the bridge when he heard Zuko's shouting prompting him to spin on his heel and look over the war zone upon the ship immediately spotting the other firebender, calling out to Zuko's brother, he found that it was useless, growling, he looked back to the safety of the ship where he could hear Zuko's shouting now laced with venom and threats accompanied by swearing before looking back at the other firebender, he looked up to the skies as if to say: _Why me? _and ran back onto the other ship.

"Sokka! Where's Jet!?" a girl similar looking to Sokka questioned worriedly,

"He should be behind _me-," _Sokka tried only to be hit rather painfully, "Stop hitting me!"

Refusing to, Zuko kept at it forcing Sokka to place him upon the metal ship's deck, giving Zuko the opportunity to run only to be tackled by Sokka, the two wrestling upon the ground. Katara rolled her eyes at her brother's antics but she supposed he was in the right this time, she looked to the enemy ship where she spotted the Freedom Fighters' Captain fighting through the opposing pirates that happened to be both benders and non-benders just to get to the other boy similar looking to the one Sokka had wrestled to the ground;

_'Must be his brother.' _Katara thought idly.

"Hey!" Jet called out to the firebending boy,

"What-," he slammed a man's skull into the floor, "do you want!?"

"Zuko's worried about you!" Jet growled, slicing a man's throat with the crescent guard upon his sword's handle, "We need to get back to the ship!"

A snort escaped Azulon, is he now? Allowing his golden gaze to wander, he spotted his brother watching from the other ship's deck, it seems the boy was telling the truth, he looked to Jet and nodded, Jet allowed a strained grin to cross his lips. Hooking his sword behind the nearest man's ankles he yanked his sword back, bringing the man falling, quickly jumping off the man's body before he fell, he and Azulon made their way towards the ship which was now being boarded by the enemies.

Seeing his brother approaching, Zuko moved to the front and stood upon the railing and shot out a large wave of fire, making sure to miss the two allies, the ice bridge began melting. Both Azulon and Jet jumped for it, Azulon making it safely while Jet was less lucky, Zuko shot passed his brother and grabbed a hold of the other boy's arm, Azulon providing cover fire, literally. Pulling Jet up, Zuko nodded to his brother who allowed the fire to fall,

"Thanks." Jet grinned,

"Uh - sure?" Zuko hesitated, what else was he to say?

"You too." Jet pointed his look to Azulon who snorted,

"Whatever _peasant."_

"What are we going to do about them?" a bald headed boy questioned, gesturing towards the enemy ship,

"Simple." Azulon sniffed, Zuko watching the group with wary eyes, knowing full well what his brother was going to do,

The air around Azulon crackled and sparked as he moved, lightning began to generate itself, and before any of them knew it, he shot the blast of lightning towards the other ship. The sound it made hitting against the ship's hull echoing through the air followed by shouts, the band of misfit children all watching as the ship caught fire topside while water filled the lower half. Every pair of eyes landed upon Azulon who made his way towards the tip of the ship, walking away with little remorse of what he'd just done, walking away as if he had no problem with the fact that he had just killed a ship full of men.

"I believe introductions are in order." Azulon declared, standing proud and tall, "I am Prince Azulon of the Fire Nation and this is my brother, Zuko."

"What was that!?" the blue arrow kid exclaimed,

"I did what was necessary." Azulon huffed, "It was merely a means to an end."

"You just **killed** at least dozens of men!" the girl similar to Sokka growled,

"What are you going to do? Kill us?" Azulon challenged, meeting the girl's glare with one of his one,

"No," the girl growled, "We're going to lock you up."

Azulon instantly took on a defensive stance, Zuko was about to step up and help his brother when a hand latched itself around his wrist, looking back, Zuko found Jet looking at him sternly, he looked back to his brother, no one moved to grab Zuko, it seemed they were only after his brother. Katara shot a huge wave of water at Azulon which he dodged efficiently enough, she proceeded to freeze the water upon the ship causing Azulon to lose his footing but as he fell he shot a blast of fire at her, the girl bringing up a shield of ice, more people stepped in, wrestling with Azulon to pin his limbs to the ground without getting burned or hit.

Zuko began struggling, he felt the need to help his brother despite knowing said brother was a danger to everyone on the ship.

"They're after your brother, they're not going to hurt him!" Jet hissed,

"_I don't __**care!"**_Zuko snarled, as he continued struggling against Jet,

"_Stop moving!" _Jet snapped, face flushing,

It was then he felt something press against the small of his back making him still in his efforts to escape, he had a '_wait a minute' _moment, he looked over his shoulder at Jet who was hiding his eyes from Zuko with his hair, Zuko looked down spotting Jet's weapons placed safely at his side, a look of pure horror crossed Zuko's face as soon as he realized what exactly it was that was pressing against him while Jet's body heated with embarrassment. Panicking and now more than desperate at escaping this boy's hold, Zuko shot a blast of fire against the ship's metal deck, the force causing him and Jet to tumble backwards, as they fell, Zuko shot another blast of fire at the others holding Azulon down making them all scatter giving his brother enough leeway to escape their hold if only for a moment.

He and Jet fell hard on the floor, Zuko falling hard on the other boy's throbbing member, earning something between a moan and hiss from Jet, more than embarrassed, Zuko scrambled off the other boy, struggling to get to his feet only to slip on the ice and fall ungracefully on his face with his ass in the air giving everyone a good view, Jet and Sokka's face heating up. Everyone rushed to detain Zuko and help Jet only for him to wave them away, willing himself to calm down, hoping no one noticed his little problem, watching as they escorted Zuko and Azulon to the holding cells, Zuko seemingly more willing than to comply, he didn't blame the guy, he'd be more than weirded out if some stranger he barely knew got a hard on for him.

"Problem, Jet?" came Smellerbee's taunting voice,

"No!" Jet snapped, a little too quickly, "I'm fine."

Smellerbee began laughing her ass off as she plopped herself next to her Captain, Longshot taking his place on Jet's other side, even though the Freedom Fighters were taken in by The Gaang, they were still loyal to their Captain,

"Oh really ~ ?" she grinned, she gestured to Jet's little problem, "Doesn't seem like you're _fine ~ ."_

They both looked to Longshot, silent words being exchanged making Jet's demeanor change from irritation to just plain embarrassment as he quickly snatched Longshot's hat and placed it over his groin area, Smellerbee began laughing again while Longshot merely smiled, Jet hated them so bad right now-;

"What's going on over here?" Katara questioned, standing before the group,

"N-nothing, Katara." Jet grinned, although forced,

"Doesn't seem like nothing," she sat down before Jet who noticed Smellerbee's grin widen, "Your face is red, are you feeling okay?"

"Hey guys~!" Aang cut in, plopping himself down next to Katara, "What's going on~?"

"I was just asking Jet here if he was okay," Katara explained,

"Oh yeah~! He looks like he has a fever!" Aang supplied,

"So!" Jet interrupted loudly, "How are the prisoners?"

"Azulon's being a complete jerk!" Aang huffed, crossing his arms over his chest,

"But we let Zuko free, he seemed nice," Katara stated,

"Zuko was really nice ~ !" Aang practically swooned,

Everyone began chatting about the prisoners, allowing Jet to calm down and hand Longshot's hat who took it a little hesitantly, sighing, Jet got to his feet and did a routine perimeter check knowing full well that he wouldn't be getting any sleep that night, hoping that he could _maybe _get a few minutes of alone time with his right hand.

* * *

"This is ridiculous!" Azulon huffed,

"Maybe if you didn't make such a big deal about things, you wouldn't be here." Zuko stated simply, sliding Azulon his food,

"We need to get home, I don't want to eat slop and sleep in dirt for the rest of my life."

"You don't think I feel that way?"

"Oh I know you do, Zuzu ~ ," Azulon smirked, toying with the chunks of meat, "Which is why I have a task for you ~ ."

"I'm not killing anyone."

"No, no, you don't have to ~ I noticed that boy, Jet, seems to have taken a liking to you ~ I want you to manipulate him, use him for information on where we're going because it's obvious they're not going off their course just for us, bring that information to me and I'll see what plan I can come up with."

Zuko frowned, was he really going to do that, was he willing to hurt someone else, even if it isn't physical pain?

"Well?"

"Okay."

"Good Zuzu ~ !" Azulon crowed, "Now go ~ ."

Nodding, Zuko left his brother's cell and made his way to the upper deck, it seems like he was really going through with this.

* * *

End of third chapter I'm sorry if someone or everyone was OOC


	4. Chapter 4

Morning rose as well as Zuko, waking with the sun was something both he and Azulon learned when they were younger for they were taught that the sun would increase their firebending skills, this meaning that both he and Azulon were the only ones awake at such an ungodly hour for the sun was barely peaking over the watery horizon, and only for the barest of moments, Zuko felt the need to run to his brother only to remember what Azulon had asked of him.

Sighing, Zuko pulled himself up from the cot he had been assigned, there he sat in silence, listening to the waves lapping at ship, this ship was obviously a stolen Fire Nation navy war ship, a modified one at that too. Getting to his feet, Zuko decided to work on a few of his firebending forms for waking at this hour meant that he would be the only one awake.

Looking over the endless ocean, Sokka spotted the sun barely peaking over the ocean line, he was out here on his shift of lookout, there were no ships following them and there would be none following them today, he didn't see why he was forced out here. Although there is one plus about being out here this early, it meant that everything was calm, peaceful, that he was the only one up ~ , he hated it! How could anyone remain sane after days upon days at sea with nothing to do? What did sailors do to pass the time? Flopping on his side, he heard the faint sound of what sounded somewhat like footsteps, frowning, Sokka crawled to the edge of his perch and spotted a lone figure, he knew of no one who would be up this early - .

Removing his dirtied red long sleeved shirt, Zuko tossed it callously aside welcoming the feeling of the sun's rays upon his body, inhaling deeply, Zuko began moving through the movements, concentrating on the moves themselves without the accompaniment of fire, this relaxed Zuko to some degree as his Uncle's words echoed throughout his mind, he was at total tranquility. As the sun began to rise inch by inch, Zuko could feel his firebending strengthen as well as the need to just let go of his self control, just to feel the rush of the flames, to which he would gladly indulge. A spark burst into full blown fire, Zuko moving the tendril of fire about his body, shooting powerful bursts of flames about, bending the destructive and lively element to his will ~ .

'_Wow ~ .' _Sokka's mind supplied as he watched the hypnotic moves of the firebender, watching as a thin sheen of sweat began to form upon the youth's body, glistening as said youth moved bent the will of the element he controlled.

_"Damn it-!"_

This guy really needed to calm down and take it easy and luckily for him he was just the guy who knew how to make people laugh; throwing his legs over the edge of his perch, Sokka leaned forward, cupping his hands around his mouth;

"Hey Jerk! Watch the language ~ !" Sokka called out capturing Zuko's attention, "There are children on board ~ !"

A confused frown escaped Zuko before he allowed the barest of smirks to cross his lips, straightening his stance, Zuko cocked his head ever so slightly, Sokka watching as the gentle breeze made Zuko's inky tresses wave ever so gently in the breeze,

"Really ~ ? Because the only child I see here is you ~ ."

Blinking, Sokka stared at Zuko, he honestly hadn't expected that, a goofy grin crossed his features when he realized Zuko meant it as a joke rather than a jibe,

"Nice to know at least one of you jerks know have a sense of humor ~ ."

Trying to play it cool, Sokka slipped from his perch only to land in an ungraceful heap on the metal landing,

"Sokka!" Zuko shouted, rushing to the boy's side,

"I guess I missed the landing ~ ," Sokka stated sheepishly as Zuko helped him sit up,

Now it was Zuko's turn to blink a couple of times before a bright smile spread across Zuko's lips as he began laughing uncontrollably, the sound was music to Sokka's ears making him grin like a loon, Zuko seemed noticeably brighter after this and he couldn't help but join in on the laughter as well ~ .

"So Azulon and I never were able to hang out with people our own ages," Zuko finished,

"It's a good thing we have enough of that here," Sokka grinned, wrapping an arm around Zuko's shoulders causing Zuko to tense momentarily before he relaxed,

"I have to ask, where are we?"

"Well we're going to the Four Spirits Isle and we're on the opposite side of the world from your home if that's what you're asking,"

"Oh." _That was easy._

"Well, well, well," Jet jeered, Zuko and Sokka looking at the other boy, "What do we have here?"

"Zuko here was just telling me about his home, weren't you Zuko?" Sokka grinning at Zuko who felt a flush creep across his cheeks,

"Uh - yeah," Zuko offered a weak smile,

Jet narrowed his eyes at the Water Tribe boy who glared right back, a feral smirk crossed Jet's lips as he tossed Sokka one of his beloved tiger hook swords, Sokka catching it clumsily making him cut himself on accident,

"If you two are finished then I suppose you won't mind if I steal Sokka for a bit," Jet murmured, glaring at Sokka,

"No not at all." Zuko assured obviously not sensing the tension,

"Good," Jet grinned viciously;

Leading the way out into the center of the deck, Jet clenched harder onto his sword's handle, Sokka looked over his shoulder and spotted Zuko watching them, upon seeing Sokka looking at him, Zuko offered a thumbs up making Sokka smile shyly, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to beat Jet and Jet knew it, the jerk was going to embarrass him in front of Zuko;

"Jet."

Glaring over his shoulder, Jet saw Sokka toss his hook sword back to him in favor of pulling out his own sword, smirking, Jet tossed his sword to Zuko who nimbly caught it, Jet arching a brow at this, seemed like the lost Prince knew how to handle a weapon ~ ,

"Are we fighting for Zuko's attention?" Sokka finally questioned, coming to a stop,

"Oh trust me," Jet sneered, turning to face Sokka, "It won't be much of a _fight-."_

Breathing in happily, Aang made his way to the upper deck, it seemed like everyone was still sleeping! This was his first time waking up before everyone else~! Grinning happily to himself, Aang exited from the depths of the ship only to spot Jet and Sokka fighting while Zuko stood with Jet's sword, watching the two, without a _shirt - . _Blushing, Aang made his way up to Zuko who spotted him and offered an awkward yet kind smile that just happened to make Aang's day;

"Good morning, Aang," Zuko greeted kindly,

"Oh - , morning Zuko," Aang beamed,

"_That was a cheap shot!"_

Aang looked to Jet and Sokka as the two fought, a confused look crossing his features before looking to Zuko questioningly,

"What are they doing?"

"Fighting, I thought this was a normal thing?"

"Well it is but-," Aang trailed off, why would his friends be acting so weird?

"Gotta be faster than that - !" Jet growled, striking violently at Sokka,

Frowning, Zuko watched as Jet's attacks became more and more brutal, immediately Zuko jumped over the railing with Aang calling after him to stop only for Zuko to ignore him, running up behind Sokka, Zuko kicked Sokka's legs out from underneath him making Sokka fall with a yelp as Jet's sword followed after him to which Zuko stopped it with Jet's own sword, the clang of metal on metal echoing, bringing everyone back to reality.

Sokka's eyes widened as he saw Zuko kneeling over him, protecting him from Jet's strike, Jet seemed surprised but only grinned devilishly at the Prince who scowled, pushing Jet backwards,

"Get out of the way Sokka!" Zuko hissed, eyes never wavering from Jet's,

Numbly, Sokka nodded, scrambling away from the two boys, Jet's grin morphed into a smirk as he took in Zuko's stance and fierce look;

"How cute ~ ," Jet drawled, circling Zuko as Zuko circled him, "Share you're past and talk about you're home with him and all of a sudden you two are best friends ~ ."

Zuko remained unfazed;

"I just wonder ~ how would you be after a round of sex ~ ?"

"_Wha-?" _

Was all Zuko could say before Jet charged forward grabbing the back of Zuko's head, threading his fingers within those soft locks of hair and smashing their lips together, the clink of teeth audible between the two followed by the sound of Zuko dropping Jet's sword from shock, a sound of surprise escaping Zuko making Jet grin into the stolen kiss before Zuko promptly shoved him away, the bender's face alight with a blush of embarrassment,

"What was that!?" Zuko shouted wiping at his mouth furiously,

"A kiss ~ ." Jet grinned, licking his lips, relishing in the faint taste of Zuko.

The moment was broken by a thunderous booming sound most likely waking everyone within the ship, Aang was first to spot it, jumping forward he sent a large gust of wind flying, meeting the cannonball head on causing an explosion not too far from the ship causing violent waves to lap at the ship, rocking everyone's equilibrium;

"Enemy ship!" Sokka shouted as another thunderous boom went off,

"Sound the alarm!" Aang ordered as he kept this cannonball at bay,

Nodding, Sokka made his way towards the steering room as Jet ran to get everyone up and ready, Zuko ran up to Aang,

"What can I do?"

"You're going to help us in the fight if they board the ship."

"Right."

Each step Jet took made echoed throughout his mind making his ears ring as he made his way towards his former crew before they were taken in by The Gaang, the Freedom Fighters. Slamming the metallic door open gave Jet a view of his former crew already up, some lethargic while others were torn between confusion and panic, Smellerbee and Longshot moved to the front of the group;

"Jet, what's going on?" Smellerbee questioned,

Before Jet could say anything something hit the end of their ship and _hard, _this causing the group to stumble or fall, Jet holding himself up on the door's frame, soon the loud grating noise of metal on metal became louder and louder indicating that the enemy ship was now running alongside their ship port side causing the huge metal ship to quake and rumble,

"It's an enemy ship, 9 o'clock!"

This was Jet needed to say as he turned on his heel and dashed out of the room, the sound of metal screeching was soon accompanied by the sound of multiple footsteps, his Freedom Fighters, as his group struggled to keep their balance and keep up with Jet, he dully noted that he was missing one of his hook swords.

Exiting from the depths of the ship and into the light, the group was eagerly greeted by the sound of battle; finding that the enemy pirates were now rushing their fellow crew members, standing rigid, Jet looked over his shoulder and nodded, giving his group the go-ahead to join the fight making him feel nothing but proud as his former crew charged out into battle ready and raring to end some lives despite some of them being a little young - .

Zuko's world spun as he felt something kick his feet out from underneath him and as he fell he saw the man before him swipe at him, cutting Zuko across the chest, the cold bite of the blade distracting him from the pain he felt in his back, hissing, Zuko managed to spot the man bring his metal booted foot down prompting Zuko to ignore the pain and roll out of the way, the glimmer of a weapon called out to him, _Jet's sword! _Getting to his feet Zuko watched the huge platypus-bear of a man bring that large war ax down allowing Zuko to dodge it, the weapon sticking within the ship's floor giving Zuko time to run up the man's arms and slid for the lone weapon.

Personally he wouldn't use tiger hook swords but it was better than nothing ~ .

Slicing the man's neck, Jet shoved his body into another causing them to tumble down before having to flip away from another clumsy swipe at him but as he landed he somehow lost his footing and almost stumbled backwards only to feel his back hit into another person, gaining his footing, Jet brought his sword around as well as the person he had bumped in to, their swords locking, giving Jet enough time to register that it was Zuko as well as his other weapon. Both boys blinked momentarily before spying enemies behind the other, slipping passed the other in order to protect them from the oncoming attack, Jet bringing the sharpened end of the sword into the man's chest, Zuko using the crescent guard to slice at the other man's arm, kicking him away, both boys ending up back to back.

Looking over his shoulder, Jet nodded at Zuko who returned a curt nod, the duo returning their attention towards the battlefield.

"Why aren't you using you're firebending?" Jet breathed,

"I'm going to burn everyone - unless you want me to set your ass on fire." Zuko sneered earning a strained chuckle from Jet,

"This is getting ridiculous," Jet huffed, "We're going to need your psychopath brother!"

"No!" Zuko growled, "I can do this, just get everyone below deck!"

"What are you going to do?"

"Just do it!" Zuko snapped, pushing against Jet, urging him forward,

Sighing, Jet gave Zuko a quick salute, "Aye, aye, Captain ~ !"

Rolling his eyes, Zuko allowed his body to begin heating up, dodging every strike heading his way as Jet ordered everyone below deck, Zuko cast a glance over his shoulder at Jet who nodded, nodding Zuko was about to firebend when he felt someone press against his back once again, Jet,

"What are you doing?!" Zuko hissed,

"I'm staying. I'm not letting you have all the fun ~ ."

"Well here." Zuko handed Jet his other sword, "I won't be needing it."

Taking the sword, Jet felt an intense amount of heat begin to come from nowhere, he looked over his shoulder at Zuko who seemed to be concentrating, a second after he realized what Zuko was about to do, the entire area surrounding them burst into flame scorching the pirates while trying to keep the flames from heating the ground below him as well as keeping the flames from getting to Jet who stood in awe. Allowing the flames to die down showed both Jet and Zuko that none of the enemy pirates had survived,

"Whoa ~ ."

At hearing this, Zuko cast a tired grin over his shoulder at Jet, that was a lot for Zuko to handle especially after that prolonged fight as well as the wound that began seeping blood, Jet grinned rather impressed, both boys grinning at the other when Jet spotted something moving over Zuko's shoulder, a man struggling to get to his feet, in his dying moments he tossed something at the two, Jet instantly reacting by shielding Zuko, the metallic object burying itself within Jet's shoulder, the boy slumping tiredly against Zuko proceeding to black out.


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender ~

* * *

_I remember the night we had been brought in to The Gaang, (a ridiculous name for a band of pirates but it was __**Sokka **__who had come up with the name) it was both embarrassing and shocking;_

_It was a clear starry night, sometime around - I'd say 10:25 - when Longshot had come to me, telling me, er, well, not really telling me, he'd given me that look that conveyed that I should follow, nodding, I watched him leave just as silently as he had come, I looked to Smellerbee and gestured for her to follow, watching her follow after Longshot, I waited a couple of minutes before standing up, holding my cup in the air; I congratulated my Freedom Fighters on a job well done, we weeded through the Fire Nation navy crew and found those still loyal to the late Fire Lord, Fire Lord Ozai, the man who had ordered his soldiers to burn the world down, killing my mother and possibly my father but I could care less about that bastard._

_After giving my speech, I exited the dining area and stalked towards Longshot's post, finding both Smellerbee and Longshot waiting, Longshot waved me over, crouching low, I spotted a docked ship along with several figures moving about, some of the crew-members were benders; go figure - _

_"What should we do, Jet?" Smellerbee asked, she was somewhere off to my right, meaning Longshot was off to my left._

_Squinting, I tried to make out their ages and judging by their small stature I guessed they were children, there weren't too many either, we could easily overtake them, take their supplies and leave them to their own fate, it may be heartless but Captains were only interested in taking care of their own crew. Or at least I was, as well as countless other bands of pirates we'd encountered._

_"Same we do as every other time we come across children," I began, chewing on my handy wheat, "Give them the opportunity to join us, or leave."_

_I could tell they were nodding, walking back to our encampment, I told the rest of my Freedom Fighters about the other band of pirates, told them what we'd be facing, instantly my crew wanted to wipe them out, in that moment I felt proud. So we set to work on devising a plan, it was fool-proof, except, we didn't count on the band of kids to have the fucking Avatar on their crew, let alone being the crew's Captain._

_"I'm sure a Captain like you knows the rules." Sokka had stated, standing on Aang's left side,_

_"I do." I growled, glaring at the infuriating boy,_

_"What's your choice?" Aang had asked,_

_I looked over my shoulder as the rest of Aang's crew gathered mine, herding them like a bunch of koala sheep, Smellerbee and Longshot giving me a nod, showing me that they'd support me no matter what, I glared at the sand I was kneeling in; I had two choices, go our separate ways, giving them our stuff, or join them, banding our supplies together, I couldn't do the prior, I couldn't do that to my crew - _

_"I - ," Gods this was hard, "I omit."_

_Since then, our groups had been together for two years, but despite being upon that ship so lovingly named Appa, for two years, our respectable crews were still having issues with one another and mine felt like outcasts; Aang's crew were soft and doughy, they still clung to morale, mine were hardened by years of thieving, killing, fighting, so in short, The Gaang were proper and my Freedom Fighters were barbaric. Different sides of the coin as they say._

_After a particular bad fight between our crews, mine had come to me, asking, no, __**begging **__me to do something, and really, what could I do? But I had to keep up appearances so I had asked them what they felt was best, the majority (everyone) wanted to rob them blind and just cut our losses, go back to our precious forest, so I had easily lied saying that was what I was thinking as well._

_Even though we're now known as The Gaang, we're still Freedom Fighters, I'm still the one calling the shots - _

_"Jet."_

_"Jet."_

"Jet. Wake up."

Mumbling, Jet slowly willed his heavy lids to open, revealing his clouded hazel eyes to the harsh light, hissing, Jet threw his arm over his eyes, through narrowed lids, Jet looked to his right where he spotted Smellerbee and Longshot loyally sitting on the bed opposite of his, he must be in the medical room;

"H-how's Zuko - ?" Jet rasps, shutting his eyes once again,

He hears Smellerbee snort: "Of course that's the first thing you think about, even after you've been out for the rest of the day, it's noon."

Chuckling weakly, Jet grins tiredly, "You know me Bee - ."

"Yeah, unfortunately -," Smellerbee smiles, it's obvious that she had been worrying, "Your Prince should be with his crazy brother."

"They're letting - him out - ?" Jet frowns, attempting to sit up,

Smellerbee and Longshot shoot forward to help him only for their Captain to wave them off, clutching his shoulder, Jet hissed from the dull pain throbbing in his shoulder, his entire body sore,

"Yeah, it was by Aang's orders too." Smellerbee begins, "Says they'd need the extra hands - ," she reclines upon the bed, "I think it's because Aang wants someone to look after Zuko,"

Longshot shares a look with the two of them making Jet chuckle dryly and Smellerbee laugh heartily;

"Yeah Jet ~ , what's with this guy that has all of you tripping over yourselves ~ ?"

"Seriously Bee ~ ?" Jet grins dazedly, "He's hot as hell, both literally and physically, cute, awkward, most definitely a virgin ~ ."

"_Gross, Jet!" _Smellerbee exclaimed making Jet's grin widen and cackle madly - ;

**_BOOM!_**

Rain started falling from the clouds that Azulon had ruptured, despite the rain the two firebending brothers kept at their Agni-Kai, neither willing to back down until one of them loses. This fight was different from their others, it's as if Azulon was actually trying to kill him, spitting venomous words about Zuko, reopening old wounds, he was really laying on the insults, this was Azulon's way of making Zuko stronger. Suddenly something whizzed passed Zuko's ear and before either sibling knew it, Azulon was pinned to the front of the ship by a single arrow, surprise evident upon their faces; looking over his shoulder, Zuko spotted Jet with his two friends on either side of him, an air of murderous intent lurking around Jet;

"What do you think you're doing!?" Zuko snapped, turning to fully face the trio, mainly Jet, as Azulon burnt the arrow, freeing himself, "You just interrupted an Agni-Kai!"

"Does it look like I give a fuck!?" Jet snapped, storming towards Zuko, towering over the young Prince, "You should be resting! Not out here in the fucking rain in a fucking storm, prancing about and playing with your magic fire with your crazy ass brother!"

"It's not magic fire!" Zuko glowered up at the taller male, "And you're one to talk! You look like shit and you're fucking standing there telling me that _I_ should be in bed!"

"Language Zuzu ~ ." Azulon tutted,

"And you!" Jet growled, rounding on Azulon who glared murderously at him, "What the fuck was that shit you were saying to your brother!? I don't care how it is in your country or whatever, but out here you don't say shit like that! You've got serious issues! How could Zuko even stand there defending you!?"

"I'm not defending him!" Zuko snapped, this going ignored by the two males,

"He's my brother," Azulon snarled dangerously, advancing on Jet so both 18 year old boys' chests were touching, "My _little _brother, _out here _I'm his caretaker meaning I can raise him how I see fit."

"_Raise him?" _Jet snorted, "That isn't _raising him, _that's abuse."

"And how would you know, _peasant."_

"Because unlike you I know what's right and what's wrong."

"_What's right from wrong? _I heard you tried to kill innocent citizens, all because they were Fire Nation," Azulon spat,

"How'd you - ?"

"Know about it? I was 16 when I heard about it." Azulon sneered, smirking wickedly, "You call you're crew _Freedom Fighters? _You're _crew _tried to kill innocents all because of their nationality, that doesn't sound like what _Freedom Fighters _should be." Azulon turned his cold eyes to the group that had gathered around them; "All of you! Nothing but a group of misfit children, children running from their lives in search of something better, running from your poor existences. Left alone in the world because your families didn't want you or you didn't want them, orphaned by the war that has long since ended. Only weak cowardly fools run from the cards they've been dealt!"

"You're wrong." Aang spoke up, stepping forward, "We all have our reasons for being here."

"Some of us left our families to help Aang in his quest!" Katara added,

"Unlike you, Azulon, we've gone through the hardships of the war, we weren't born in a palace, we weren't given everything we wanted, we weren't fed with a silver spoon, we weren't given the world on a silver platter." Sokka spoke smoothly,

"Yeah!" someone in the crowd shouted,

"You're nothing but a spoiled Prince!"

"Why don't you go back to the cells! No one wants you here!"

"Go back to your palace!"

A wicked grin crossed Azulon's lips, "Does this all account for _Prince Zuko ~ _?"

The murmurs stopped, everyone looking to Zuko who was staring down at the metal flooring, refusing to meet anyone's gaze,

"Zuko - ," Aang began,

"There's nothing wrong with you, it's your brother." Sokka finished, placing a hand upon Zuko's shoulder,

"Hypocrites ~ ." Azulon smirked,

"Shut up!" Toph snapped, pointing a finger at Azulon,

"You're always welcomed with us, Zuko." Katara assured,

"No!" Zuko snapped, dragging himself from the group, turning a fierce glare on the crowd, "Azulon's right! You're nothing but hypocrites! You can't accept him then you sure as hell can't accept me. We were born from the same family, we **are **family, we're both Fire Nation Royalty, everything you say about him, you say about me."

"That's good Zuzu ~ ," Azulon praised, "Come on little brother, no one wants us here."

Everyone watched as Azulon lead the way to the cells, Zuko following after his brother only for Jet to grab his wrist;

"Zuko - ,"

"**Don't touch me."** Zuko snarled, glaring at Jet, pulling himself from the boy.

Silence fell upon the ship, nothing but the background noise of thunder and waves lapping against the ship, rocking the vessel violently.

"That could have gone better." Suki murmured.

* * *

"Shit, Bee, Longshot - ." Jet murmured, sitting in his room, he'd been given the second biggest room upon the ship due to him being a Captain, plus his crew insisted upon it so The Gaang were forced to give him the room, "Why the hell does he stick up for that asshole of a brother!?"

"Why does it matter, Jet?" Longshot spoke, surprising both Smellerbee and Jet, "Before, it seemed as though you were only interested in Prince Zuko as a bed partner."

"I - ," Jet frowned, "Because - , Gods I don't know!"

"Have you fallen for the Prince?"

"No!" Longshot gave Jet a stern look, "I don't know - , maybe - ?"

"Both Smellerbee and I noticed the way you had argued with Zuko, I'm merely guessing here, Captain, but it seems as if you've developed a strong desire to protect him, you're domineering personality latching on to the Prince because he seemed innocent, or at least innocent to the world beyond the palace walls, it gave you someone to protect. Considering your possessive streak, I take it once, or if, you manage to make him yours, you won't let go."

"Damn, he's right."

"Fuck!" Jet threw his hands in the air, "What is this? A fucking therapy session!?"

"No, we are merely trying to help you through your confused state." Longshot deadpanned, used to their Captain's temper,

"I'm not confused." Jet snarled,

"So once you have your quick fuck you'll leave him, let Sokka have him?" Smellerbee questioned, Longshot placed his hand upon her shoulder,

"It would be for the best, Jet and Zuko wouldn't make a very good couple, someone like Zuko needs someone like Sokka, Sokka won't hesitate to help Zuko through the pain, he's a caring person."

Jet knew they were baiting him but he couldn't help it: "You guys saying I wouldn't know how to take care of Zuko!?"

"You're just looking for a quick fuck." Smellerbee huffed, "That's someone who can't take care of anyone romantically."

"I could too! I fucking love him! I'd protect him, I wouldn't let anyone or anything hurt him! I'd make sure he was happy and had everything he - ," he spotted Longshot's smirk and Smellerbee's grin, "You sneaky motherfuckers. You set me up."_  
_

"No, you did that to yourself ~ ." Smellerbee grinned,

"Now you know where you stand with Zuko." Longshot offered,

"Fine, fine, whatever. I fucking love the guy, now what?" Jet huffed,

"_You're _asking _us _for advice on getting a date?" Smellerbee questioned dramatically,

"Very funny - ," Jet snorted, he was a little sore that he'd been played, "I already know my usual charm doesn't work on him, what do you suggest?"

"There's obviously some hidden wounds with the humble way he presents himself, as well as a story behind that scar over his left eye, he's guarding his heart, if there were no wounds he would probably be like Azulon, now Azulon is another thing, he's obviously protective of his brother, earlier, I suspected Azulon was the one who had started that dual, he didn't hold back meaning he's trying to toughen Zuko up."

"That's fucked up." Jet grumbled, interrupting Longshot,

"Azulon obviously won't give Zuko away so you're going to have to approach Zuko directly, in order to get his attention you're going to have to prove that you can watch his back, show how good a leader you can be as well as how loyal you are, this shouldn't be a problem for you."

"So what do I do about Azulon?"

"Either ignore him or just go against him like you did earlier," Smellerbee shrugged,

"Right."

"This is like trying to tame a wild ostrich-horse," Jet snickered,

"It's the same prospect as that." Longshot nodded,

"Huh." Jet hummed thoughtfully before grinning, he could do this easy ~ !

* * *

Sorry if this chapter sucks I'm starting to get tired


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry it took a while to do this, I was working on another story within this fandom, ship, whatever ~ I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender

* * *

_"What have you learned?"_

_"According to Sokka - "_

_"Sokka?"_

_"Er - yeah," Zuko mumbled sheepishly, "This ship is heading for the Four Spirits Isle and as for our location, we're half the world away from home."_

_"Huh - ?" Azulon hummed thoughtfully, finger placed against his chin, "What do they want with a fairy tale?"_

_"I uh - I didn't bother to ask." Zuko admitted,_

_Growling irritably, Azulon looked away from his brother, "Doesn't matter then, we'll see once we get there. Until then, we train."_

That had been yesterday after the whole outcast incident, both brothers had claimed cells on either side of the prison blocks and the cots to say the least weren't all that comfortable. More than irritated, Zuko punched the lumpy cot before turning on his side hoping to find a comfortable position to sleep in but to no avail, sighing, Zuko dragged himself to his feet, he'd just have to start his morning rituals earlier than most days.

Looking out over the vast oceanic horizon, Jet twirled the ever faithful wheatie between his lips, maneuvering it to the other corner of his mouth. When his crew had merged with Aang's, no one had told them what their mission was exactly, just that they were scouting out an island for recreational uses, Jet snorted, that had been a load of garbage if he'd ever heard one, they obviously weren't telling them because they didn't trust them. Even if they did find this island, what were they going to do with it? Build lives and a community on it? Barely audible footsteps captured his attention, bringing him from his reverie, looking over his shoulder, he spotted Zuko, the lithe prince most likely going to do his fire dance or whatever it is firebenders did.

"Morning." Jet rumbled, voice hoarse from lack of use,

"Morning." Zuko groused, voice hoarse from sleep.

Flicking his attention back over the ocean, Jet spotted something large under the ocean, frowning, he narrowed his eyes on the black object as it surfaced, black scales, before he knew it a large black tail burst from the ocean depths and smashed into the water beside the left side of the ship causing violent waves to crash into the hull, this sending Jet falling on his ass, sliding backwards, Zuko still on his feet yet sliding towards the metal walled railing. Crashing into the railing, Jet hissed, arching his back away from the pain.

"What's going on - _!" _Aang was cut off from his question as a large serpent rose from the waters,

It's body color mainly made up of black scales with a few splatters of royal blue here and there, royal blue cat-eyes, tongue forked long and winding, moving as if it were a snake.

"Who dares enter the Four Spirits Waters." the creature demanded more than questioned,

"Uh - hey - giant snake, serpent, thingy - " Sokka began,

"Snake serpent thingy?" Katara huffed,

"Quiet Katara!" Sokka hissed,

"I am Avatar Aang!" Aang stated, stepping forward, "My friends and I wish to pass these waters to get to the Four Spirits Isle!"

The large beast lowered it's head so that it was eye level with Aang, those haunting blue eyes staring deep into Aang's soul,

"I am Tsu-Mian. Guardian of these waters." Tsu-Mian spoke, it's mouth never moving, "What purpose do you and your _friends _seek within the Four Nations Isle?"

"We're trying to appease the Spirit World by bringing them the thing that is 'hot yet cold, liquid yet solid, shaped from the air we breath'," Aang stated, "If we don't find it, they will continue destroying lives, bringing imbalance to the world."

"The world will always be imbalanced, Avatar Aang." Tsu-Mian rumbled, straightening himself to his full height, "But very well. Though I am to warn you about the perils that lie ahead."

"Whatever it is we can take it." Toph assured, a chorus of 'yeahs' following shortly after,

"I am sure **you **can child," Tsu-Mian spoke, "Although the rest of your _friends _aren't of the same caliber."

"What do you mean?" Aang questioned, peering up at the giant serpent,

"Those who are not of strong will, will crumble underneath the pressure of the Isle's elements." Tsu-Mian explained, "I only serve as a warning to those who have ventured into these very same waters. Ahead you will face many beings you have believed to be myth, each and every one of these beings will want to break you, weaken you before they drag you into the depths of the ocean where you will be devoured, body and soul. Fogs of different elements will block your view of oncoming obstacles until it is too late, these fogs will also take a toll on your body and mind causing you to hallucinate, putting you and your crew in harm's way." Tsu-Mian looked towards the direction of the Isle as if being able to see it, "Then there is the island itself; the animals that dwell upon it have evolved into larger, more dangerous versions of those you have encountered before, evolved to prey on your kind, mortals, climates are rough, native tribes will attack and sacrifice you to existing Gods. Survival is minimal."

Silence fell over the entire ship as Tsu-Mian finished his great warning, someone even going as far as falling over, most likely fainting, a low rumbling noise escaped Tsu-Mian, something surfacing from the waters beside him, his tail curling around the object, another ship,

"I will give you and your crew an hour and a half to come to a conclusion, those who wish to abandon these trials will leave within this ship, it is designed to get you to the nearest inhabited town, it can ration for enough people." Tsu-Mian set the boat a good feet away from theirs, "Take your time."

With that, Tsu-Mian submerged within the waters leaving everyone to their own devices, his warnings still hanging heavily within the air, as soon as the bubbles stopped, everyone erupted into rancorous chatter, talking amongst themselves, some even checking on the one who had fainted. Jet snorted, sure as hell wasn't one of his Freedom Fighters.

"I'm still going through with this." Aang determined, "I'll understand if you guys want to leave. I won't hold it against any of you."

"We're with you Aang." Katara assured, her and Sokka stepping forward, placing her hand upon Aang's shoulder,

"Count me in." Suki smiled,

"I can't let you have all the fun now can I twinkle-toes." Toph grinned, punching Aang's shoulder, knocking him over,

"Gee ~ thanks you guys," Aang beamed, rubbing his sore arm, "But we'll need more than just the five - ," Momo landed upon Aang's other shoulder, "Er - sorry Momo, the six of us."

"Maybe we could get Zuko to join us." Sokka spoke up, earning odd looks from everyone, "What? He's a pretty good firebender - ."

"Sokka - we're not on the best terms with him or his brother," Katara began, "And even if he _**does **_join us, his psychopathic brother will most likely tag along."

"That'd still be a good thing though - ," Toph began, "I can sense that Azulon cares for Zuko, he wouldn't do anything that would put his brother in trouble, plus I heard he can bend lightning and Zuko can deflect it, they're two sides of the same coin."

"We _could _use the extra firepower." Suki stated,

"What about Jet?" Katara asked,

"What _about _Jet ~ ?" Suki grinned, nudging Katara causing her to blush,

"He's a good fighter - ," Katara defended, crossing her arms, "And he knows how to survive out in the wild."

"I don't think that's the reason you want him with us ~ ." Toph teased,

"Oh be quiet!" Katara huffed,

"Listen you guys - ," Aang cut in, getting in between the group, "If we do ask them they may think we're pressuring them, we'll just have to let them decide on their own."

"And sorry Katara - ," Sokka began, draping an arm around her shoulders as he checked his nails, "Jet doesn't exactly like playing by Aang's rules, I don't doubt that he will hesitate to leave."

* * *

"What do you think about all of this?" Jet questioned, leaning against the railing beside Zuko,

"I could care less." Zuko murmured,

"Jet." Smellerbee called out, capturing their Captain's attention, "We're awaiting your decision."

"How many want to leave?" Jet questioned, standing upright,

"More than half want to leave," Smellerbee began, Longshot nodding to confirm this, "The others will stay by your side no matter what you choose."

Humming, deep in thought, Jet cast a look to Zuko who watched the others mill about, buzzing with anticipation, maybe he'd get Zuko's opinion on all this, see what the firebender wanted to do, he looked back to Smellerbee and Longshot.

"Give me some time to think about this, I'll tell you guys my decision when I come up with one."

Smellerbee and Longshot nodded, walking into the crowd, Jet faced Zuko who looked at him, brow arched, arms crossed over his chest, eyes flitting back towards the mix and mingle of crew members;

"Something you gotta say?" Zuko questioned dully,

"Yeah, but I need to talk to you in private." Jet stated, "Come with me."

Leading the way, Jet didn't bother to see if Zuko was following, he knew the other teen's curiosity would get the better of him and as they delved deeper into the ship, Jet could hear Zuko's barely audible footsteps, a smirk crossing his features. They soon came to Jet's bedroom door, opening the door, Jet allowed Zuko to enter first before he followed, shutting the door behind them.

"What do you want?" Zuko sighed,

Passing Zuko, Jet sat upon the foot of the bed, patting the empty spot next to him, "Sit and then we'll talk."

Rolling his eyes, Zuko sat beside the wild haired teen, body tense, most likely ready for an attack, "Talk."

"What are you going to do about all of this?"

"All of what - ?"

"This decision we're given, what are you going to do?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business."

"Your right, it's not, but I want to know because I want to know you'll be safe."

"Huh - ?"

"Look - Zuko," Jet took Zuko's hands in his making the other teen reel, "I've come to like you during this short amount of time we've known each other, I think we work well together, you obviously know what you're doing, especially when we were fighting back to back - it's like we've been doing this since forever." Jet looked into Zuko's eyes, he had to make this sincere, "You know what's right from wrong, you don't let anything get in the way of your prize, and the way you move - that's someone I can trust to have my back, I want - no - I _need _someone like you at my side," Zuko looked away, Jet allowing this, as long as he maintained physical contact, "Your brother was right when he said that _Freedom Fighters _shouldn't go around attacking and killing civilians just because they're of a certain Nation, and I'm still trying to cope with the urge to attack you or your brother when I see you guys firebending, but it's exhilarating and it's just - _you _- all of this - ," Jet cupped Zuko's jaw, forcing the younger teen to look at him, "None of this would mean a thing if you weren't there by my side." Jet began searching Zuko's eyes, "I want you to join us. I want you to _stay -_ with _me._"

"I - ," Zuko looked away, "I don't know - I'm not sure if my brother - ,"

"This isn't about you're brother. It's about you. I'm asking **you **not your brother."

"Jet - ." Zuko sighed but before he could say anything further than this, Jet placed a soft kiss upon his lips, Zuko tasting just as Jet had remembered,

"Please Zuko." Jet breathed, resting his forehead against Zuko's,

Zuko blushed, looking away from Jet, "I guess I could."

Jet couldn't help the soft smile that crossed his features, "That's great ~ ."

"I better go - ." Zuko murmured, pulling away.

Getting to his feet, Zuko walked away trying to hide the fact that he was blushing like a schoolgirl who had just gotten her first kiss from her crush, closing the door, Zuko picked up his speed, hoping to make his way to the upper deck until a burst of lightning shot past his head, whipping around, Zuko kicked his leg out sending a wave of fire flying, Azulon breaking through it,

"What are you doing Azulon?" Zuko hissed, poised for a fight,

"Checking up on my little brother," Azulon sneered, "Just making sure he hasn't lost all his senses due to being _**lovesick."**_

"What - !?"

"Oh please Zuzu ~ ," Azulon drawled, "Its obvious you have a _thing _for that urchin, I'll admit, he's a good pick for you, he's everything you're not - ruthless, cold, calculating - you'll balance each other out therefore you have my blessing ~ ."

Immediately Zuko knew something was up, "What are you getting at Azulon?"

"Nothing. It's obvious this boy is your first crush, I am merely showing hospitality."

"What are you getting from this?"

"Besides an ally ~ ? Nothing."

Sneering, Zuko stormed away, there was no point in talking with Azulon when he was like this.

* * *

Everyone was gathered out on the upper deck chatting amongst themselves, everyone set with their decision, their time obviously came to an end as Tsu-Mian appeared once again, the large serpent towering before their vessel sending everyone into a hush - ,

"Your time is up mortals. Have you made your decisions?"

"We have." Aang confirmed,

"Very well." Tsu-Mian brought the other ship closer with his tail, "Those who wish to leave may board now."

Aang, Katara, Haru, Momo, Sokka, Suki, Teo, and Toph stood on one side of the line up of people, watching as friends left, bidding them farewell, meanwhile on the other side of the line up stood Longshot, Smellerbee, Jet, and Zuko, Jet grabbing a hold of Zuko's hand causing him to jump from the sudden touch, golden eyes looking to Jet, said male offering a calming smile, Zuko shifted awkwardly but held his hand none the less, Jin, Pipsqueak, The Duke, and a few others siding alongside them. Once the line thinned out a bit, they could see the opposite sides, they had a good 23 or so people.

"There remains only 23 of you - I wish you luck on your travels." Tsu-Mian bowed, giving the ships a nudge, sending them in opposite directions, the two ships' attendants waving 'goodbye' to one another.

After a few good minutes of awkward and tension filled air, the two groups looked at the other, most likely sizing the other up, Sokka coughed into his fist, stepping forward causing all eyes to fall on him;

"Since this is still _Aang's _ship and _his _mission, I say he's still in charge," Sokka pinned Jet with a look, "I hope that won't be a problem for any of you."

"What!?" The Duke exclaimed, stepping forward, "Jet's a _way _better leader than _him! _I say Jet should lead!"

"Listen _The Duckling - _," Sokka huffed, poking The Duke's helmet, "Aang is the Avatar, the _Avatar! _And Jet's just, Jet."

"It's _The Duke _and there's more of us! If Jet hadn't agreed to continue aiding you losers in this mission, there would only be **five **of you!" The Duke countered,

As the two continued arguing, Jet draped himself over Zuko, flirting with his new found boyfriend, simply enjoying the reactions he received from Zuko who was blushing like mad, Jet grinned, groping Zuko's rear while said teen tried to keep Jet from groping him, keeping him at arms length. Smellerbee nudged Longshot and gestured towards the two, Longshot following her line of sight, spotting Jet trying to get at Zuko while Zuko tried to keep Jet away. It was cute ~ .

"Jet." Aang spoke up, halting both Zuko and Jet's actions, "We'll all have to sit and talk about this. Hear each others' opinions on who will lead the group."

"You want this lovesick fool to lead?" Azulon snorted, "He'll most likely chase my brother about like two dragon-sparrows in love."

Everyone looked to Jet to see what his response would be, Jet arched a brow spitting out his ruined wheat stalk as well as rubbing the back of his head;

"As much as I hate to admit it - Azulon's right." this earned surprised gasps from everyone and a raise of the eyebrow from Azulon, "I'd rather spend my time with Zuko ~ ."

"Okay that's settled ~ ." Suki clapped her hands together, "How about we all get to know each other?"

"Like what?" Toph snorted, "We just sit in a large group and ask each other random questions?"

"Pretty much ~ ." Suki grinned,

"Well I think it's a wonderful idea ~ ." Katara smiled, sitting down, this action followed by everyone else.

"Count us out - Zuzu and I need to work on his firebending." Azulon drawled, walking towards the center of the ship's deck,

Toph snorted, "_Zuzu?"_

"It's - never mind." Zuko sighed, following after his brother.

Jet noticed his Freedom Fighters tense upon hearing this, pursing his lips into a thin scowl, Jet got to his feet moving to sit with his blind spot to the two benders in order to show his crew that he trusted them, or well, Zuko, this seemingly easing the tension from their bodies. As the group got into questioning one another, Jet hadn't noticed that he had a dreamy little smile on his face as he watched Zuko sparring with his crazy older brother.

After an hour or so the two brothers came to a stop in their firebending practices in order to eat, Jet watching Zuko as he passed, smirking rather playfully, Jet hooked his tiger sword in Zuko's sash, promptly tugging on it causing the young firebender to fall into his lap, golden eyes wide with shock, Jet's smirk turned into a meaningful and soft smile, the fire's light dancing over Zuko's features,

"You're beautiful you know that ~ ."

A wild blush appeared upon Zuko's face causing him to look away as he sputtered excuses and other what not while shoving at Jet's face making the latter laugh at the blushing bender's attempts, the two stopped as soon as they heard a squeal causing all eyes to fall on Jin who wiggled in her place, giggling like mad,

"You two are so cute ~ !" Jin squealed, "Can we see you two kiss ~ ?"

"What is wrong with you! No you may not see us _k - !?"_

Zuko was cut off from his rant as a pair of rough lips molded against his, leading the kiss yet being gentle all the same, an underlying tenderness, this wasn't their first kiss, but it certainly had more magic behind it, Zuko felt his heart thudding heavily, hoping no one would be able to hear it. Slowly he closed his eyes allowing himself to become lost within Jet's presence, his essence, his everything, from the warmth that radiated from his body and the feel from his makeshift armor, everything had a rough, dangerous musk, this was something that sent chills through his body, though said chills weren't unwelcome ~ .

Jet pulling away from Zuko, fully aware that the firebender's lips followed after his, he allowed a true smile to cross his lips as he looked into those fiery golden eyes that seemed to light up, he truly was a firebender ~ _his _firebender.

"Yeah Jet ~ show that firebender who's boss ~ !" one of his Freedom Fighters exclaimed, causing Zuko to smile into their kiss as well as laughs to rise through the group,

"You two are a couple?" Haru questioned a little surprised earning 'seriously' looks from everyone,

"Yeah - ." Jet sneered, glaring Haru down making the latter fidget, daring him to say more, "You got a problem with that?"

"N-no! No - it's just I'd like to propose a toast - !"

Jet narrowed his eyes, "Let's hear it then."

"I would like to be the first to congratulate you two and wish you good luck - ,"

"I'd rather it be someone else -." Zuko hit Jet giving him a glare, Jet grinned nuzzling Zuko, "Sorry, sorry - continue."

"I - uh - I wish you two the best of luck within your lives and love, it is good to see love blossoming in these trying times." Haru finished, cheers erupted,

"I would also like to say something." Longshot spoke up, "Jet - Smellerbee and I have known you for a long time, we'd seen you during your worst and best. We know enough to know your hatred for the Fire Nation is strong," Zuko flinched, "But if you're in love with a person from the Fire Nation, not just a person, but a Prince as well as a firebender. It is obvious your love for Prince Zuko is beyond that of your hatred, Smellerbee and I will gladly accept Zuko into our crew if it means you will be happy."

With that, Longshot sat down, Jet smiling broadly, when Longshot spoke, Jet knew that he meant what he said, Smellerbee then got to her feet,

"I'd like to say something too - ." she looked to Jet, "I'm with Longshot on this, I've never seen you smile or act so goofy before Zuko arrived, I'd like to give you my blessings."

"Thanks guys." Jet smiled.

* * *

_" - You want this lovesick fool to lead - He'll most likely chase my brother about like two dragon-sparrows in love - "_

_" - It is obvious your love for Prince Zuko is beyond that of your hatred - "_

_" - I've never seen you smile or act so goofy before Zuko arrived - "_

All of these statements had felt so - so _out of character _to Jet, had he really been that transparent, had Zuko really brought that out of him and him not realizing? These all scared him - it was a weakness, a weakness that would and could be used against him, a weakness that could easily be exploited, seen from a 500 yard radius, a weakness he needed to snuff out, it was a weakness he loved.

Zuko snuggled deeper into Jet's side causing the Freedom Fighters' Captain to smile, he would protect this _strength _with a vengeance, he'd have to toughen himself up.

* * *

Longest chapter ever and I got lazy near the ending so sorry about that ~


	7. Chapter 7

I'm thinking about making an M!Preg fic or whatever but first I'd like to know if anyone would be interested and if not well I'm going through with it anyway ~ maybe a Jet/Zuko Aladdin story ~ anyway ~ I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender.

* * *

Waking that morning, Azulon found his brother wasn't in his cell, most likely slept with his new found little boy-toy, deftly moving through the motions, the elder Prince found himself walking the halls of the ship with that ridiculous name. _Appa. _Azulon resisted the urge to snort in derision. It was early within the morning, therefore little Zuzu should be up and about, also most likely with that urchin. Honestly it got to Azulon a few times but he quickly ignored it, he needed to remain that impassive mask otherwise things will only go downhill from there - besides- Azulon kinda figured Zuko would dabble within that sort of experience considering they were surrounded by nothing but men back at the palace.

Why was he even thinking about his brother's sexuality in the first place?

Upon entering the upper deck, Azulon was nearly ran in to as Zuko jumped passed him, Jet following closely on his heels:

"_Jet - ! Stop it - !" _Zuko snapped, dodging Jet's lunge,

"_Aw c'mon ~ just one little kiss is all I asked for ~ ! _was the urchin's reply.

"_With your __**tongue **__- !?"_

As expected. Azulon walked further out onto the deck, eyes roaming over the crew, they seemed to be rather relaxed despite the warning they had received from Tsu-Mian. Shouldn't they be doing certain jobs, or something?

In fact - Azulon scanned the area - where in the hell was their supposed _Captain?_

Nearing the monk's little posse, Azulon was given looks of distrust, well except for that blind girl, but still, he was pretty sure she was just as suspicious as the rest of them.

"What do you want, Azulon?" Katara questioned, voice cold, holding no emotion.

"I merely want to know where our _beloved _little _Captain _is." Azulon drawled with a shrug,

"He's sleeping." Sokka deadpanned, the boy was drawing - _something - _Azulon arched a brow: What was that?

"It is getting rather late, is it not ~ ?" Azulon tittered, "Shouldn't he be more diligent as a Captain? Even lover-boy is up."

At this, everyone looked to Jet who had finally caught Zuko, the two sitting perched upon the roof used for lookout, hands entwined, Jet giving Zuko a little kiss behind the ear making Zuko flush a bright red - Azulon noticed Sokka tense - a small smirk crossed Azulon's features.

"I'll admit - ," Azulon began, airily, causing Aang's group to look at him, "It is a little taxing watching them fawn over each other like that - but I suppose dear little Zuzu could have done worse ~ after all ~ Jet is a rather worthy fit for my brother, a great warrior at that ~ ."

"Is that acceptance I hear in your voice - ?" Katara snorted,

"No ~ just stating the obvious for those who think they ever had a chance with my brother ~ ." Azulon noticed Sokka flinch, he grinned, "As much as I'd like to mingle with the common-folk, I must be off, Zuzu is skipping out on his training ~ ."

"What was that all about?" Suki murmured,

"I don't know - ." Katara grumbled.

Toph merely placed a comforting hand upon Sokka's back, he sighed, she knew how he felt towards Zuko and he was grateful for that, at least someone knew what was going on with him, but now it seems his crush's older brother knows now. The Water Tribe boy staring down at his painting - no one could tell what it was which may or may not be a blessing.

It was him confessing his feelings towards the young golden-eyed boy - he then added Jet and Azulon watching in the background:

"Why are you drawing trees in the middle of the ocean - ?" Haru questioned,

"It's not an ocean - !" Sokka huffed,

"It looks more like scribbles - ." Katara murmured thoughtfully, Sokka sighed,

"Well I think it looks great - whatever it is." Suki smiled,

"Thanks."

"Hey Zuzu ~ time for your daily beating." Azulon called out,

"I'll show you a beating - !" Jet snarled, Zuko sighed but jumped down none the less.

Walking out onto the center of the deck, Azulon removed his shirt, Zuko following suit, the two bending brothers couldn't lose these shirts for they were specially designed to withstand their firebending tendencies. The crowd parted, gathering against the railing in order to avoid being burnt - mainly by Azulon. Kneeling, both brothers counted mentally, before rising, facing the other, firebending stances ready:

"Ready Zuzu ~ ." Azulon snickered,

"Let's just get this over with - ." Zuko grumbled,

"Why ~ ? Want to get back to your boyfriend ~ ?"

Zuko blushed. Azulon snorted, feigning non-interest before shooting a blast of lightning at Zuko, the latter quickly reacting, redirecting the lightning back at him forcing Azulon to dodge, he hated to admit it but he didn't know how to redirect lightning, that old fuddy-duddy Uncle of theirs never taught him that move - playing favorites with Zuko - his lips to curl into a snarl, Azulon sent a powerful blast of fire at his brother, sending Zuko sprawling on his back, the metal chafing his skin as he slid.

"Come on, Zuzu - that can't be all you got can it - ?" Azulon sneered, actually glaring his brother down,

"No - ." Zuko kicked his foot out, sending a burst of fire sailing towards Azulon, "That's not all I got - ."

It was becoming a regular occurrence to see firebending upon the ship now that they had Azulon and Zuko on-board. Some of Jet's, no actually all of Jet's crew, still flinched upon seeing any sort of human produced flame - Katara would see moments in Jet where he'd tense up upon seeing Zuko firebending but quickly hid it, most likely forcing it down.

What sent Katara for a loop was seeing Jet flirt with Zuko from day one despite knowing what he was - at first she wondered if he was going to use him like he'd done to her and Aang - but it was obvious he had actually _fallen _for Zuko, and that was weird because one time they had all stopped at a port surrounded by a small village within the Earth Kingdom's land only to find out nothing but Fire Nation citizens lived there, after that, Jet refused any sort of help from them, his crew backing him up, this forced them to leave without any fresh supplies - .

But now here he is - marveling over Zuko - the Fire Nation's Prince who just so happens to be a firebender.

Turning her attention back to the fight, Katara spotted an odd spark within Azulon's eyes, an odd expression mixed between anger, jealousy, and impassiveness all rolled up into one, she cocked her head to the side, what could Azulon possibly be thinking about that would cause him to drop his mask, or at least struggle to keep it in place?

Grumbling, Jet threw his head back, simply looking at the skies above, what time was it - ? Noon? Aang still wasn't up - ? Zuko and Azulon were still sparring - ? Getting to his feet, Jet stretched his stiff muscles:

"Hey _Zuzu ~ _I'm getting bored and you two have been at it for hours now ~ I'd like to eat now." Jet hesitated, mulling over what he just said, allowing a lecherous grin to cross his face, "Preferably you ~ ."

This caused Zuko to misstep, giving Azulon the upper hand, giving the older brother victory - but instead of basking in it like he usually did, he left for what Jet assumed was his cell.

"It _is _nearing lunchtime ~ ." Jin hummed, "I guess I'll get lunch ready ~ ."

Jet approached his boyfriend, sitting across from him, Zuko was practically pouting, Jet chuckled, cupping Zuko's jaw, forcing the younger of the two to look at him;

"C'mon Bright-Eyes, time to get ready for lunch." Jet stood up, offering Zuko his hand,

Hesitantly, Zuko took his hand: "Thanks."

Katara watched the two, it was pretty cute ~ she'll admit that much, but, she looked towards the door where Azulon had disappeared, was no one going to check up on him? Sure Zuko would - but he was currently busy with Jet - she looked around, it was obvious no one else was going to do anything. All he really had was Zuko - -pursing her lips, she took a steadying breath, she'd step up and be the one to check up on Azulon - she spotted his discarded shirt.

* * *

"I should check on Azulon - ." Zuko began, heating up his hands causing the water to turn to vapor, drying his hands for him,

As he moved to leave, Jet grabbed a hold of his wrist making him stop, Zuko sending a fierce look over his shoulder at Jet, Jet gently tugged on his arm pulling the young Prince back towards him until their bodies were pressed against one another - Zuko still had that fierce look making Jet chuckle.

"I think Azulon already has a visitor - ." Jet hummed, grabbing Zuko's left hand, bringing it to his lips, "Please tell me you didn't see Katara pick up Azulon's shirt." Zuko's confused look gave Jet his answer, the older teen rolled his eyes, leading the way towards the cell holding level, "C'mon - I'll show you."

Approaching the holding cells, Jet stopped short, Zuko following his lead, peering around the corner, Zuko found Katara standing before Azulon and his cell:

"There's obviously something wrong - ." Katara persisted, toying with the shirt's hem,

"There's nothing _wrong - !" _Azulon growled, snatching his shirt from her hold, "Now leave me alone - you returned me my belonging."

"I'm not leaving - ," Katara began, resting against the bars, "Not when I know something's weighing heavily on your mind."

"There's nothing **wrong **you thick-headed, stubborn - ," Azulon pursed his lips, clenching his fists, "_CHILD!"_

"_**I'm the CHILD - !?"**_Katara snapped, pushing off the bars, "**_You're_ **the one who's acting like a **CHILD - !"**

**"I am no CHILD!"** Azulon shouted, **"Zuko's the child! Why don't you go check on him! Everyone always seems to care about him more than me!"**

Azulon reeled, realizing what he'd let slip, the look of surprise quickly replaced with irritation as he turned his back on Katara, not seeing the surprised look that made itself at home upon her own features, she reached out for him,

"Azulon - ." Katara murmured, "Is that what you think - ?"

"It isn't what I think - ." he growled, "I know so."

"You think no one cares - ?"

"Just - leave."

"There **are **people who care - everyone has someone that cares about them - ." Katara began, placing her hand upon his bare shoulder, "Zuko cares - I'm sure your Uncle cares."

"I know Zuko cares - ." Azulon murmured, "But everyone was always scared - ."

Silence.

"I care - ." Katara whispered.

Remembering what he was doing, Azulon growled, clenching his fists, he turned his most fierce glare upon the Water Tribe girl,

"I don't care - I don't need anyone else." Azulon snarled, approaching the girl menacingly, "And I know I sure as _hell _I don't need some little _girl _worrying over me - _! Now get out."_

Katara ruffled indignantly, just as she was going to berate Azulon for his cold shoulder treatment when the ship halted causing her to fall back with a yelp, Azulon was merely jostled slightly, while Zuko and Jet fell from their hiding place. Azulon merely arched a brow at his younger brother who looked perfectly sheepish, Jet offering a grin,

"We slipped ~ ." Jet grinned,

"Obviously." Azulon snorted, pulling on his shirt, "Now let's see what's going on - ."

* * *

"What's going on out here - _!" _Azulon shouted, dodging a flying dagger,

"We're being attacked - !" Katara shouted, moving out to help, the three moving out as well.

Taking out a man with a shock to the neck, Azulon began bending lightning, controlling it like a snake, it curling and coiling around his body, the young man taking out a few more with a satisfied smirk -

"You're even more handsome up close ~ ." a playful voice giggled, Azulon looking over his shoulder, spotting a girl in pink, "Prince Azulon ~ ."

"And you are - ?" Azulon questioned,

The girl giggled, "I'm Ty-Lee your grace ~ ."

"Well Ty-Lee - I'm not interested." Azulon growled, shooting forth a bolt of lightning causing the girl to dodge it, a few quick jabs making Azulon's arm fall limp, "What the - _?"_

This momentarily distracting him, giving Ty-Lee an opening to attack, a few more jabs ends with Azulon falling on his back, body limp, he glares at the girl in pink as she kneels at his side, flirtatious smile in place - just then a blast of water washes the girl away, Katara instantly checking up on him.

"You're late." Azulon snorted,

"And you're a jerk - !" Katara growled.

Daggers flying passed her making her move away from Azulon, leveling a glare upon a gloomy looking girl, the girl throwing a few more daggers at Katara who effectively encased them within a wall of ice, shooting them back making the girl dodge her own weapons, Katara freezing the water upon the ground sending the gloomy girl flailing, bumping into another who managed to catch her from her fall.

Looking up, the girl found herself looking into the confused expression of Zuko, the young Prince obviously wondering if she was on their side, a blush crossed the girl's face making her look away, Jet seeing this, the older boy growling as he slashed at her making her dodge, this breaking Zuko from whatever self induced trance he'd put himself in, moving to back Jet up.


	8. Chapter 8

I'm just all over the place lol ~ I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender

* * *

Beaming lazily, Aang walked through the metallic halls of his beloved ship he so lovingly named Appa, running his fingertips along the side of the ship's walls as he walked by, he honestly hadn't meant to sleep in so late, but he just couldn't sleep, not after Jin and Suki giggled like, well, girls, both of which were talking about Jet and Zuko's relationship, then they got into deeper details, because of that, Aang had the most weirdest dream ever - closing his eyes, Aang threw open the door, stretching out, enjoying the warmth of the sun's rays upon his skin - until he felt five swords placed at his neck.

Gulping, Aang opened his eyes, spotting five rather burly men with their swords at his neck, beyond these men he could see his crew tied up and thrown at the center of the ship's deck. Azulon was the first to spot him - a weird bubbly girl in pink at his side:

"Oh - there you are _Captain - ! _I hope you slept well." Azulon began, voice clipped, "Because while you slept in like a child - **_we _**were being ransacked by these - bandits!"

A broad shouldered, rigid, and rather chiseled man with sideburns approached Jet who of which was tied up and placed beside Sokka - and Aang seriously hoped that was his blood - he spotted a few men taking away the dead bodies - never mind.

"I am Captain Zhao of The Fire Serpent crew." the man with sideburns stated haughtily, "I take it _you _are the Captain of this ragtag group of - _children."_

"Alright - ." Jet began, malicious smirk in place, "There a few things wrong with that: First off I don't give a fuck who you are or what you crew is called. Second: Not _all _of us are children, some of us happen to be of age. And finally - the person _you _are looking for is over there."

Captain Zhao's lips curled into a small snarl, promptly looking over his shoulder at Aang who smiled sheepishly, the man looking back to a Jet with a raised brow;

"You killed half of my men and you're telling me that _monk child _is the Captain?"

"Pretty much - ." Jet shrugged,

Snarling, Zhao slugged Jet across the face, delivering a punch to the gut causing Jet to cough, Sokka flinching ever so slightly as Jet spit out some blood - Zuko tensed next to Azulon, something prompting him to speak up -

"Captain Zhao - ? You used to follow under my Father's rule." Azulon delivered a deadly smile, "Before you deserted your title and rank - I take it my Father's death was such an upset to you - how does it feel to lose your lover - ?" Zuko blinked, looking at Azulon, "Oh please - Zuzu. You knew _something _had to be going on - after all - Zhao was Father's favorite soldier."

"So - ." Zhao growled, approaching the two Princes, "Prince Azulon _and _Prince Zuko." he grabbed Zuko's jaw, forcing the younger Prince to move every which way, "I still see the scar is just as hideous as it was back then - ."

"Why don't you take a look in the mirror - !" Jet snapped, kicking his leg out, "Your no prize yourself!"

"Um - ." Sokka began, "As fun as all this is - these ropes are really starting to chafe - so can we get a roll on - ?"

"Very well." Zhao growled, he stalked towards Aang,

"I'm sure a _Captain _like you knows the rules." Jet growled, blowing at a stray strand of hair,

Aang's eyes widened, _those were the exact same words Sokka had said. _"I do."

"Your choice." Zhao demanded,

"I - omit." Aang murmured, that was embarrassing, no wonder Jet still held a grudge, but what was even more embarrassing was the fact that he hadn't even been ready for the attack.

"Very well." Zhao hummed victoriously, "Take their supplies, weapons, everything - bring them onto our ship then destroy theirs."

"No!" Aang shouted, "You can't!"

"I can and will." Zhao smirked, walking over the plank to his ship.

* * *

The Gaang and The Freedom Fighters watched as their old ship was blown to bits, it's pieces and skeleton sinking within the ocean, Jet's group dispersing after Jet merely shrugged and walked away, he didn't much care for the ship, it was just a ship, and they were on a bigger ship, plus they had more important matters to tend to rather than mourning over a ship.

"C'mon Bright-Eyes." Jet murmured, tugging on Zuko's sleeve as he walked by.

Looking over his shoulder, Sokka glared at the back of Jet's head as the wild haired boy walked away, expecting Zuko to follow like a dutiful wife, or pet - . Just as Sokka was starting to decide on whether he should chew Jet out or not, Zuko grabbed on Jet's wrist sending him a fierce look, muttering something to the taller boy who reeled with a surprised look on his face, blinking, Jet grumbled something with a pout, another glare from Zuko made Jet sigh dramatically before the two walked towards their group, Jet placing a hand upon Aang's shoulder -

"I uh - 'm sorry." Jet began rather awkwardly, "I know I don't understand the bond you had with your ship - _I don't think I want __**to**_- ." Zuko elbowed Jet making him bite his lip, "But uh - yeah - sorry."

"And I'm sorry for your loss as well." Zuko began, "We tried to fight them off - but - ."

"We couldn't." Jet finished with a shrug, Zuko glared at him, "What - ? We couldn't - ."

"Thanks you two." Aang sighed, "It's obvious I wasn't fit to lead - Jet. I want you to lead. You need to."

"Sure." Jet shrugged, "I'll give ya a few to have some time to yourself - but we get my crew's old name back."

With that the group dispersed. Aang sighed.


End file.
